New Delhi, November 22
Lending a new dimension to New Delhi’s ‘Look East’ policy, the NCT of Delhi has joined 11 other Asian cities to float a consortium for promoting and developing a small to medium-sized jet passenger plane that will seek to establish Asia as a global player in the aviation industry and catapult it into the big league otherwise dominated by the United States.

This was resolved in the second plenary session of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21 (ANMC 21) that concluded its second plenary session in New Delhi on Friday with the adoption of the Delhi Declaration. Bangkok, Beijing, NCT of Delhi, Hanoi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Yangon are members of ANMC 21. Asserting the apolitical character of the conclave, the Japanese delegation led by Governor of Tokyo Metropolis Shintaro Ishihara told media persons the joint project of promoting a civilian aircraft would combine Japanese expertise in precision machinery with production capabilities of India. “The US monopoly in civil aviation industry is a fact. That does not augur well for the world. The project, when it takes off, will not only end the US hegemony but also become an instrument for promoting peace among the Asian capitals,” Ishihara said at a joint news conference addressed by the heads of delegation.

“The US is wary of Japan’s emergence as a major player in aviation industry,” Ishihara explained. The project, he said, would provide an opportunity for Asia to establish a new identity and position itself as a powerhouse in the world economy. “The aircraft,” he added, “will come to symbolise the partnership and co-operation among the Asian capitals.” Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who moderated the joint news conference by heads of delegation, said an indication of how seriously ANMC 21 viewed the project could be had from the fact that the Japanese delegation called on Defence Minister George Fernandes and also visited the headquarters of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore.

The ANMC 21 also declared its intent to undertake joint projects for managing crises and promoting Asian business and investment. The NCT of Delhi has also offered to take the lead in establishing the Asia Distance Learning Project and setting up a centre for the promotion of Asian art and craft. “We have already applied for land to build the centre that will serve to showcase Asian cultural heritage,” Dikshit said. The ANMC first met in Kuala Lumpur in August 2000. The first plenary meeting was held in Tokyo last year. Besides the second plenary, Delhi is also playing host to the exhibition by members of the ANMC 21 at the India International Trade Fair. The Asian cities are showcasing a diverse range of industrial products at the Delhi Pavilion.

New Delhi, November 22
Exactly a week after a fourth year student of the Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) was criminally assaulted on the terrace of the nearby Khooni Darwaza in the heart of the city, the police today claimed to have nailed the perpetrator of the brazen crime along with his three alleged associates.

Identified as “Rahul,” the name tattooed on his arm, the perpetrator of the crime is also known as Budh Prakash and is a resident of a jhuggi colony, a stone’s throw from the scene of the incident The police said that the victim had also identified him as the main accused after his photograph was shown to her by the lady Assistant Commissioner specially deputed to pursue the case.

The accused were identified as Rahul alias Budh Prakash (19), Amit (19), Neeraj (14) and Suraj (14) – all school dropouts who had no means of livelihood. Rahul is also facing trial in two cases of burglary. Incidentally, Amit is his brother. Rahul, it seems, tried to conceal the tattooed name on his right forearm with the help of white powder.

In fact, the Delhi Police had zeroed in on the suspect two days ago and had questioned him at length, after it was discovered that he usually loitered around the Khooni Darwaza and near the gate of the MAMC, often indulging in eve teasing. The three other youths, who had abetted the crime, have also been traced.

When the suspect, who claims to be employed in his uncle’s transport company, saw that the game was up, he filed an application in a local court. But it is apparent that he feared that he would be harassed by the police, which had been scouring the city for “Rahuls”. He, therefore, invented an alibi and claimed that he was away in Tonk in Rajasthan on the day of the incident. But the police had collected irrefutable evidence about his presence in the city and near the scene of the crime that day. The magistrate had fixed today for the hearing. A police official informed the court that Rahul had been arrested and he would be produced before the court on Saturday.

Delhi Police Commissioner R S Gupta, later addressing a press conference, said that four persons were present at the time of the incident, and it was a rape-cum-robbery. The accused, after raping the victim, snatched her mobile phone, purse and Rs 100 and vanished from the spot.

Mr Gupta said that the four were waiting for a probable victim and when they spotted the girl they decided to commit the crime. They whipped out a knife and led her to the terrace. While three of them were on the terrace at the time of the rape, one person was standing downstairs, guarding the area.

The shocking rape has created a fear psychosis in educational institutions among the girl students.

The Delhi Police recently held discussions with the college principals on beefing up the internal security. The police now plan to install a toll-free helpline for women in the colleges, so that they can get in touch with the cops in case of an emergency. From now on a women police official will be present in the PCR van that is deployed near a women’s college, so that the girl students can easily communicate their problems.

Ghaziabad, November 22
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad has got all degree colleges closed in protest against the teachers of the Post Graduate College who allegedly beat up some girl students and their leader.

The girl students were clamouring for the stoppage of monetary fines. The students organised a protest rally in front of the office of the District Inspector of Schools here today and raised slogans against the teachers for assaulting their leader Anupam Sisodia, a second year student. The students created so much furore that the police had to register cases against three teachers.

On receiving an assurance from the college authorities that the order for collection of fines will be taken back, the students decided to postpone their decision to sit on fast.

It all started when the students led by Anupam Sisodia and Shyam Bala reached the college and reminded the principal of their six-point charter of demands.

Meanwhile, college teachers Rekha Aggarwal, Indrani and Rajni Goel allegedly started forcing two students into the classrooms. When these students resisted, they were reportedly assaulted by the teachers as a result of which Anupam Sisodia, got injuries on her hand.

This enraged the students who started raising slogans. Soon, hundreds of them gathered at the main gate of the college and proceeded towards GT Road where they blocked traffic at the Chaudhry trijunction and later at the Clock Tower crossing.

City Magistrate Sarvjit Ram, Circle Officer Police K K Gautam and District Inspector of Schools Bhagwati Singh reached the college and called the meeting of the management committee to sort out the matter.

At the meeting, the principal announced that in all probability the monetary fines would be withdrawn. The decision would, however, be taken in the college management meeting on November 24, she added.

A case has been registered at Sihanigate police station against the three teachers for having assaulted the students. Student leader Anupam Sisodia, Neetu, Shyam Bala, Sugandha and student union district president Kaushlesh Kumar were also present in the meeting with the City Magistrate and others.

New Delhi, November 22
The Crime Against Women (CAW) Cell of the West district police in association with the Forum for Social Justice is conducting a two-week capsule course on self-defence techniques for Bharti College for Women, Janak Puri to instill among girl students self-confidence and ability to handle unscrupulous elements on the road.

The cell is also coordinating a workshop at the college along with the Delhi Commission for Women, Delhi Legal Aid and Forum for Social Justice. The first batch of girl students demonstrated spectacular skills, which they had acquired during the capsule course under the guidance of an expert, K. K. Mehta. Now these students can even break bricks with their bare hands.

The main idea of the training and demonstration is to bring about a change in the mindset of girl students and instill confidence among them. Another batch of girls from Senior Secondary Government School, Subhash Nagar will also be completing their training on November 25.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Mr Dependra Pathak, gave away the certificates for those women students who had participated in the training programme on Thursday.

The demo was followed by an interactive session with the college girls. Delhi Commission for Women’s representative Renne Jacob, Prof Vinay Bhardwaj, representatives from the Forum for Social Justice and police officials were present on the occasion.

Journalists
clamour for arrest of Sirsa-based dera headTribune News Service

Faridabad, November 22
A number of journalist organisations and political parties in Haryana today condoled the death of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chattarpati.

Mr Chattarpati was shot at and seriously injured allegedly by the members of the Dera Sachha Sauda, Sirsa, on October 24. He died at Apollo Hospital in New Delhi last night.

The Haryana Janata Dal chief, Mr Ved Prakash Vidrohi, has expressed grief over the death of Mr Chattarpati.

He has demanded the arrest of the owner and officials of the Dera and a CBI enquiry into the attack which led to the death of the scribe.

In a statement here today, Mr Vidrohi alleged that all kinds of shady activities were going on in places like the Dera and anyone who dared to expose them was vulnerable to such attacks.

He said that the murder of Mr Chattarpati was the latest example of such anti-social activities and if the trend was not curbed, it could harm the objectives of social justice.

He said that the Dera was already facing a CBI probe on the orders of the High Court and the state government should ensure that an independent probe be carried out immediately into the incident which, he said, was shocking and a direct attack on the fourth pillar of democracy.

Ridiculing the claim of the Chief Minister’s son that the state government was prepared to carry out an independent probe by an agency like the CBI into the case, Mr Vidrohi said the Chautala government had given a special permission to the Dera head to use ‘red beacon’ on his vehicle and other such facilities available only to a VIP.

In Panipat also, journalists condoled the death of Ram Chander Chattarpati at a meeting in the PWD Rest House today. A one-minute silence was observed for the peace of the departed soul.

Later, in a memorandum to the Haryana Governor, a CBI inquiry was demanded into the incident. A thorough investigation into the Dera activities was also sought. A compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the bereaved family and a government job to a member of the family were other points of the memorandum.

Mr Harwinder Kalyan, general secretary of the HPCC, while mourning the death of the scribe, also demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the family and a government job for a member of the family.

In Rohtak, various political parties, journalists and prominent individuals belonging to the Haryana Forum for Social Justice have expressed deep anguish over the death of Mr Chattarpati.

The journalists held a condolence meeting in the Canal Rest House today and demanded a CBI inquiry into the functioning of the Dera, a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of the deceased journalist besides providing a government job to a dependant of the family and reimbursement of medical expenses incurred on his treatment.

The CPM, Haryana, described the untimely death of Mr Chattarpati as painful and said because of the dark forces perpetuating under the garb of religious faith, the Editor of Sirsa-based eveninger ‘Poora Sach’ had to die in the prime of his youth.

The state CPM secretary, Mr Inderjit Singh, said that the party has been drawing attention of the government to the anti-social reports emanating from the so-called Dera and its self-proclaimed god. Had the law-enforcing agencies and the government taken timely action, the life of Mr Chattarpati could have been saved as he was carrying a relentless campaign almost single-handedly.

The party has demanded that the nexus between the politicians and the Dera be exposed. Mr D R Chaudhary, journalist and former chairman, HPSC, said that Mr Chattarpati has paid the price for exposing the Dera’s shady deeds.

The Lok Janshakti Party has described the murder of Mr Chhatarpati as an attack on the press freedom.

The state president of the party, Mr Shamsher Singh Malik, has demanded immediate arrest of the functionaries of the Dera and a CBI inquiry into its functioning.

The Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), too, has mourned the death of the journalist and called upon the people to unitedly expose these evil forces.

Faridabad, November 22
The road blockade, started by the residents of Asavati near the lube plant of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) at Pyala village, entered third day today.

The members of the Sangharsh Samiti, set up to carry on the stir, claimed that it would continue ‘dharna’ till the IOC officials accept and implement their demand of providing employment to the persons whose land had been acquired by the company in 1989.

The Samiti said it would be forced to expand its base of agitation, if the company officials and the authorities do not ‘wake up’.

According to the Samiti, at least 342 persons lost their agricultural land due to the acquisition and claimed that the IOC plant at Pyala was perhaps the only institution which did not provide jobs to the residents whose land had been acquired.

It may be recalled that the SDMs of Ballabgarh and Palwal had supported the villagers’ demand and helped reach a tripartite understanding that the affected villagers be given employment on compensatory basis.

New Delhi
A mentally deranged person, who claimed to be an incarnation of late Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was overpowered by the police when he tried to immolate himself in the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The police received an information around 11 am that a man was threatening to immolate himself by pouring kerosene and setting himself aflame with the help of a match stick in the court. But the alert police personnel reached the spot and foiled his bid.

He told the police that he was actually Pandit Nehru and had to take birth again since Nehru’s ashes were spread over fields in the country. From one such field in Bharatbhoomi, he said, a tree grew and he grew out of that tree. But he did not mention why he wanted to immolate himself. The person demanded Z-plus security cover for himself after having failed in his attempt.

After interrogation, the police sent him to LNJP Hospital where he was diagnosed as mentally disturbed. He was then referred to Shahdara mental hospital.

Rewari, November 22
The HPCC vice-president and former minister, Mrs Shakuntala Bhagwaria, has extended an open invitation to all those who have quit the Congress due to various reasons, but still have faith in its ideology, policies and programmes, to rejoin the party.

Speaking at a press conference here on Thursday, she also gave broad hints that some new faces from Ahirwal will join the Congress shortly. Lashing out at all such politicians for neglecting the development of Ahirwal or south Haryana, she asserted that her party could not be blamed on this count.

Quoting instances to substantiate her point, she said that even the foundation stone of a polytechnic institute at Dhamlawas village in Bawal constituency, which was laid by then Congress Chief Minister Bhajan Lal on June 4, 1995, was later removed and thrown into the dumps during a successive non-Congress regime. Similarly, Agriculture College set up at Bawal during the Congress rule was later arbitrarily shifted from there to Kaul in Karnal district at the behest of the above non-Congress government of the state.

Asserting that Congress alone could reverse this unsavoury trend of retarded development in south Haryana, she expressed the hope that in view of the growing disenchantment of the people with the present state government, the Congress was bound to make a clean sweep in the next assembly poll in Ahirwal.

Describing the SYL Canal as the lifeline of south Haryana, Mrs Bhagwaria asserted that the Congress would not rest till the SYL canal was completed and its water flowed into the farmers’ fields here.

She also made a specific mention of the youth-oriented programmes and policies of the Congress. She assured youths that the attention of Congress president Sonia Gandhi as well HPCC chief Bhajan Lal was already focussed on their problems and provision of employment to youths was among the top priorities of the party.

Panipat, November 22
Coming down heavily on the recommendations of the Kelkar Committee regarding income tax on the agricultural income, a senior Congress leader and president of the Krishak Samaj, Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala, today expressed the apprehension that the proposal would deal a “death blow” to the Indian economy.

Terming the proposal as “unfortunate”, Mr Surjewala alleged at a press conference here this evening that the recommendations were another blow to the farmers after the drought and “anti-farmer” policies of the NDA government.

Picking holes in the proposals, he said that it did not take into account the ever-increasing cost of agricultural inputs. The agriculture had not been a viable proposition in the wake of increasing cost of inputs and almost-stagnant
MSPs, he stated.

An agricultural experts’ sammelan would be held at Sonepat on the Kelkar Committee recommendations to bring the truth before the general public.

Blaming the police for the Dulina incident, he alleged that one of the Dalits died in police custody. Later the police instigated the mob to lynch the four more Dalits to wash its hands off the whole affair, he alleged.

IN PARLIAMENT
Details of 18 hawala traders given to I-T DeptTribune News Service

New Delhi, November 22
The Delhi Police have submitted names and addresses of 18 hawala traders to the investigation wing of the Income Tax Department here, the Lok Sabha was informed today. Minister of State for Finance, Mr Gingee. N. Ramachandran said that search and seizure operations had been carried out on the premises of some of the hawala traders.

Investigations in cases of such hawala traders were in progress, he said, adding however that the Enforcement Directorate had not received any names, addresses and other details of hawala traders from the Delhi Police.

The Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Prof Rita Verma, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, said that the CBSE had recovered fake certificates from a bogus ‘central board of higher education’ in Delhi. Certificates, mark sheets and application forms, both blank and filled-up, examination forms, result registers of the CBSE and All India Board of Secondary Education, Delhi were recovered.

She added steps were being taken to stop the malpractice. The Education Department, Delhi Government, had issued a notice for the information of the general public about the existence of such fake boards.

Prof Verma told the House that the UGC had identified four fake institutions in the national Capital. These included Delhi Vishwa Vidyapeeth in Model Town, Commercial University in Darya Ganj, United Nations University and Vocational University.

Referring to the implementation of the revised NCERT syllabi, she said that the CBSE had implemented the new curriculum and textual materials in all subjects except in the subjects of Hindi, Social Science and History at the beginning of the current academic session in all its affiliated schools, Prof Verma said. However, after the decision given by the Supreme Court on September 9, the new curriculum and textual material had been implemented in the remaining subjects -- Hindi, Social Science and History in Class IX and XI, she added.

The Rajya Sabha was also informed that the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, had proposed to bring about changes in its curriculum to help reduce workload and stress. The changes would be brought about by bringing flexibility, reduce workload, inter-disciplinary training, teamwork and managerial training in BTech and dual degree programmes and for various postgraduate programmes.

The Minister of State for Textiles, Mr B. R. Patil, informed the Lok Sabha that the government did not earn any profit from Dilli Haat, adding it was a joint venture between the Ministry of Textiles, Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DT&TDC) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

A profit of Rs 50.24 lakh had been reported from April 1, 2002 to September 30, 2002, he said adding that the allotment of stalls in Dilli Haat was made only to registered artisans and weavers representing states slotted in the annual calendar chalked out in advance, the minister said.

Sonepat, November 22
The president of the All India Anti-Terrorist Morcha, Mr Maninderjit Singh Bitta, has charged the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, with shielding militants and urged the Congress high command to withdraw its support to the PDP-led government in the state.

Talking to mediapersons here, he alleged that since the installation of the PDP government, the activities of the militants had increased manifold and Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was solely responsible for it.

Mr Bitta also referred to the alleged kidnapping of the daughter of the Mufti and alleged that he had be-fooled the people then and managed to get the release of some militants from jail in lieu of the release of his daughter. It was strange that the same Mufti had now become the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said that the present government was against the enforcement of POTA in the state and the sacrifices of the Indian Army jawans in facing the militants had gone waste. Jammu and Kashmir, he said, was in the grip of militants and the Indian jawans had been fighting them for the last few years. On the other hand, the leaders of political parties had forgotten their sacrifices for their selfish motives.

Mr Bitta said that the Congress Party had made sacrifices for the country and its leaders like Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had become victims of terrorism.

The central government, he said, had utterly failed to curb the activities of the militants. Similarly, all political parties had failed to safeguard the interests of the country. If all of them remained united, the country would become free from militancy.

He announced that his organisation would observe an anti-terrorists’ week from December 12 to December 20 in the memory of the attack on Parliament on December 13 last year. During this week, President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam would honour the families of those police personnel killed in this attack. He also said that the morcha had constituted an anti-terrorist force and it would be launched from January 26.

Sonepat, November 22
The district administration continued their anti-encroachment campaign today also in different parts of this city.

In a bid to save the building materials from being taken away by the officials, some shopkeepers and house owners themselves demolished their unauthorised structures and removed the building materials from the road before the demolition squad arrived.

According to a report, officials of the demolition squad swung into action on the Purkhas
Adda-Gita Bhawan road and demolished unauthorised structures, sunshades, chabutaras and concrete platforms built in front of shops and houses.

Interestingly, several owners demolished their illegal structures on their own to salvage at least the building materials.

The demolition, which started from the morning, is still continuing.

Many people alleged that underground cables of telephones, pipelines of sewer and water connections were cut off by JCB machines at several places causing a huge loss to the departments concerned as well as individuals. A large number of telephones remained dead. Residents of this area did not get water supply too.

According to another report, officials also razed to ground more than 200 unauthorised structures on the Sonepat-Rohtak road near Bayyanpur village, about 3 km from here, yesterday.

The officials pressed into service JCB machines, which allegedly damaged underground telephone cables resulting in the paralysing of telephone services.

Do you have a grouse against the apathetic attitude of the authorities? Are you fed up with the dilly-dallying tactics of officialdom and the stranglehold of red tapism?

If so, please write to us. We have a full half page every week reserved just for you. The letters should be clearly marked, Speaking out, NCR Tribune,
First Floor, Dyal Singh Library Building, 1 Deen Dayal Upadhaya Marg, New Delhi-110002.

IT was satisfying to observe that the Central Pollution Control Board in collaboration with Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute has initiated a study to assess the harmful effects of air pollution in Delhi.

Pollution is having an adverse effect on the health of the people. Their age is getting lessened with each passing pollution-filled day. Though the Supreme Court has done a wonderful job with ensuring CNG-run vehicles ply on the roads more needs to be done to bring about a decrease in pollution levels. The defaulters must be educated not to play with the lives of innocent persons. They should ply vehicles with approved diesel.

Subhash C
Taneja, Rohtak

Speak up, says Chief Justice

Satya Meva Jayatay. Truth always wins, says our ancient culture. It should never be butchered, said Mr B. N. Kirpal, the Chief Justice of India. Speaking on the contempt proceedings in the apex court, he agreed that those who disobeyed orders of the judiciary and lowered its dignity thereof should be hauled up. But those who speak the truth, however harsh or bitter it may be, and in the process criticise the court, should never be punished. Truth should be a ‘good’ defence of those accused of contempt of court charges, though that has not been the practice till date.

Ujjal Pal Singh,
Faridabad

Burden of school bag

Children’s Day has come and gone. Celebrated with fun and gaiety, it was accompanied by a blitzkreig of publicity. Practically everybody grabbed a chance to make his presence felt. But did anyone think of making the poor souls’ school bag light?

Ram Saran Bhatia,
Faridabad

When the CM is away, clerks make hay

The Chief Minister of Haryana is often globe-trotting with his large entourage, ostensibly with the aim of interacting with foreign investors. When the CM is away, the official work gets done at a snail’s pace. Nothing virtually moves without some amount of pulls and pushes or pressure exerted through various ways and means. Some extra lubricant is needed to make files move at the normal pace. The whole nation was awfully busy celebrating Anti-Corruption Week from October 31 to November 6. The whole week proved to be a holiday bonanza. A week free from official work left the desired effect on the sluggish babudom of India. Haryana officials remained busy celebrating a corruption-free week in closed offices of the secretariat owing to the holidays. Globe-trotters ‘ate up’ the second week, which was totally ‘consumed’ by their ‘impact’ on the state’s economy. Petty clerks have taken to playing cards and gossip-mongers discuss the CM’s tours with growing cynicism.

The secretariat is jam-packed with files. Only a magic wand can make files move. Every employee must be a good liaison officer at his own level to get the work done otherwise chaos will reign, leading to disastrous results. Corruption has become a festering wound with the needy and deserving licking their own wounds. This is the Sarkar Aap Ke
Dwar, taken up by inertia. What a people-friendly Sarkar Aap Ke
Dwar!

Ramautar Yadav, Rewari

Banning cow
slaughter

Hindu society contends universally that it is a sin to kill even an ant. Hindus regard the cow as a symbol of purity. They extol its position as one of reverence. A cow is worshipped and Hindus strongly resent slaughtering the holy animal tooth and nail.

During the mid-60s a movement was launched, demanding a blanket ban on cow slaughter. The movement gained momentum and hundreds of sadhus took part in a huge rally. They also staged a massive demonstration.

The government lathi-charged them and a lot many of them were injured in `operation dispersal’. At that time the RSS/Jan Sangh cadres protested vociferously and sought a blanket ban but nothing happened and the slaughtering of the holy cow went unchecked.

It goes without saying that the cow is revered by the Hindus. They consider the cow equal to the mother as it serves humankind with all that it has at its disposal. Legend has it that 36 crore
`devi devtas’ reside in the cow. The way a cow showers love and affection on its progeny is so very human-like. Why can’t then the government initiate steps to ban cow slaughter in a country where Hindus are in overwhelming majority. As a gesture of consideration the minorities should not grudge the ban. The government must, for its part, find a solution to this problem by convincing those who oppose the ban just for the sake of raising a dissenting voice. On the other hand they should also benefit from what the cow has to offer.

And it is the BJP-led government which must take the credit for banning cow slaughter as it is committed to securing this. One wonders how the present government can run away from its bounden duty.

R L Pathak,
New Delhi

UGC directive not feasible

This is in reference to the news item, “Who will break the Delhi University hoodoo?”
(NCR Tribune dated August 15, 2002) provided to us by Gaurav Chaudhary.

As per the news “In a communication to college Principals, the UGC has directed that 80 per cent of all vacant posts should be filled up on temporary basis for three months.”

To discontinue a continued system of appointing teachers in universities and colleges from 100 per cent on temporary/regular/permanent basis to 80 per cent on purely temporary basis and that too for a three-month period is an alarming jump. Jumping from the 20th step to the 100th or from the 100th to the 20th is always dangerous. Again, it can be said that jumping instead of walking step by step always gives dangerous results.

Again, the UGC appointed Sen Committee in 1973, Mehrotra Committee in 1986 and the latest Prof R. P. Rastogi Committee, set up to deliberate on university and college teachers’ pay scales and other service conditions, have all recommended the `best talent be attracted’ for the teaching profession.

How would it be possible to attract the best talent if 80 per cent appointments are offered on purely temporary basis and that too for a period of three months. With this offer in mind, none would aspire to do
MA/MSc/MCom with high second division, MPhil and PhD and qualify for the National Eligibility Test to fetch a lectureship for three months. If the government appoints 80 per cent civil servants (IAS/IPS/IFS/IRS) for just three months it will not be left with any aspirants afterwards.

The news item also speaks about the UGC directive of 22-hour workload per week. In 1989, the UGC had sent a booklet containing the minimum number of actual teaching days and workload for teachers in universities and colleges. On page 7 of the booklet, the workload of teachers is mentioned as follows: “The workload of various activities should be not less than 40 hours a week for a teacher who is in full-time employment. The break-up of workload per week is 16 hours of teaching, two hours for tests and exams, four hours for tutorials, 10 hours for preparation of lecture, hours, four hours for supervising extra curricular work and four hours for administrative work. The total comes to 40 hours. Further, the booklet says that “where extra curricular work or administrative work is not assigned or unfortunately tutorials do not take place, teaching work may be slightly increased but as far as possible a teacher should not have to teach or lecture for more than three hours per day.”

On the basis of the Rastogi Committee report, the UGC notification dated December 9, 1998, concerning teachers’ workload too speaks as follows, “Provided further that no teacher shall be expected to lecture/discussion for more than three clock hours per day”. The 1989 booklet was prepared by the working group (academicians of repute) and circulated to all state governments/universities/colleges whereas the present directive of the UGC is based on an individual’s directive.

As per the 1989 booklet, a 16-hour workload is equal to 40 minutes per period. Four periods a day for six days comes to 960 minutes or 16 hours. A 45-minute period totals up to 18 hours’ workload. Now the UGC has directed teaching for 22 hours per week. Hence, 55 minutes per period x 4 periods a day x 6 days = 1320 minutes or 22 hours.

College teachers are supposed to take up four periods a day. Neither a teacher can teach for four periods at a stretch nor the timetable allows him to do so. Hence, a teacher, in order to teach his/her four periods takes about seven periods’ duration.

Similarly, students of BA (with practical subjects like geography), BSc and BCom are supposed to attend 5-6 classes in a day. Again, neither the students can attend their classes at a stretch nor the timetable allows them to do so. Therefore, the timetable of the day has to revolve from one to 10 periods. Periods of the day cannot be curtailed from 10 to seven or six and all students can be taught by all teachers.

Further, as per a notification of 1985 of the UGC “it shall be ensured that the total weekly workload on the student is not more than 30 clock hours a week, thus enabling him to undertake some study at his own initiative or to prepare his tutorials, seminars etc”. If the latest directive of the UGC is implemented then students will not have enough time at their disposal to study on their own. Studying at one’s own level is a necessity of the teaching-learning activity. Spreading over the timetable of the day from 9 am to 6.10 pm, especially during the winter session, will be a big problem for the students. Here the students’ problem becomes the problem of teachers.

Teachers find more difficulty in teaching six students than a class of 50 -60 students. But if the 10th period of the day in colleges starts at 5.15 pm and ends at 6.10 pm then the teacher should not expect attendance in their classes to be more than 20-30 per cent.

New Delhi, November 22
Setting up of Ashrary Grih (a shelter for homeless children and women), naming of unnamed roads, strengthening and resurfacing of roads, augmentation of sewer lines, construction of walking track at Talkatora Garden and purchase of allopathic medicines are some of the major decisions taken at the monthly meeting of the New Delhi Municipal Council held today.

Disclosing the decisions taken, Mr Ram Bhaj, MLA and vice-chairperson of the NDMC, said that the civic body had decided to set up a Palika Ashray Grih at Palika Hostel, R K Ashram Marg for homeless children and women with the objective to providing a safe and secure self-supportive environment to them using its discretionary functions as per Section 12 (1)(VI) of the NDMC Act 1994.

Under this shelter, the homeless children and women will be provided with health facilities, nutritional food, clothing, vocational training, recreation and counselling. The duration of stay would be four months to one year during which efforts shall be made to rehabilitate the women and restore the children to their families as far as possible. This is likely to help run the home in a progressive manner and cater to more and more people. The shelter will have a capacity for 300 persons.

The centre will be run with the help of NGOs like Prayas and with the partnership of Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan, Jan Shiksha Sansthan and Delhi Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, which have experience and capacity to work in this sector and have come forward to contribute their resources in the implementation of this project. An estimate of Rs 38.22 lakh has been sanctioned as an annual expenditure.

The council also gave the approval for naming the road at North Avenue starting from Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital to Rastrapati Bhawan after Late Pandit Shri Prakash Vir Shastri. The road from Aurobindo Marg (opposite INA Market) leading to Brig Hoshiar Marg-Laxmi Bai Nagar will be named as Rani Laxmi Bai Marg, the circular road adjacent to Khalsa School and gurdwara (from B Avenue to B Avenue) Sarojini Nagar as Guru Gobind Singh Marg, the road connecting from Raj Nagar to Brig Hoshiar Singh Marg, presently known as B Avenue as Shri Vinayaka Mandir Marg and the road from Arya Samaj Mandir between X-Y Block and Palika Vihar, Sarojini Nagar as Veer Hakikat Rai Marg.

A decision was also taken to strengthen and resurface roads by providing and fixing 60 mm thick prefab cement concrete grass pavers for which an estimate of Rs 26.94 lakh has been sanctioned.

Similarly, Rs 92.26 lakh has been sanctioned for resurfacing of the middle circle and radial roads of Connaught Place, resurfacing of Jaswant Singh road, Jai Singh Road, Dr Bishambar Dass road, and providing cement concrete pavers at South market and East Kidwai Nagar.

The council also sanctioned Rs 4.29 lakh for providing water proofing treatment on the terrace of Lok Nayak Bhawan. It was also decided to augment sewer lines in the area bounded by Bapa Nagar, Shershah Suri Marg and Dr Zakir Hussain Marg, Moti Bagh, Netaji Nagar and Sarojini Nagar by making house line connection to the newly laid main branch sewer line of Sarojini Nagar. Desilting of SWD system from Tolstoy Marg to open nallah at Tilak Marg Crossing and restoration of SW barrel at CPWD nursery .

New Delhi, November 22
Joining the list of dignitaries and organisations not hosting their customary Iftar parties is Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. The Iftar was scheduled for Saturday.

The Government of NCT of Delhi spokesperson said the Chief Minister had decided to cancel the Iftar this year. The Chief Minister though had conveyed her best wishes on the occasion of Id-ul-Fitr, the spokesperson added. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had announced that they would not be hosting Iftar parties this year.

NIO exam on Dec 15

The Central Board of Examination will hold the first level of National Informatics Olympiad examination on December 15. Students studying in Classes XI and XII are eligible to appear in the examination, which will focus on evaluating programming competence and critical thinking. The CBSE has issued a circular asking those desirous of taking part to send applications through their school to the nodal centre with a fee of Rs 60. The last date of receiving application is December 5.

Painting contest

A painting competition for schoolchildren is being organised in Pragyan School on November 24. The competition, now in its second year, is being jointly organised by the school and the Shankar’s on-the-spot painting competition.

The competition will be organised in four categories of three to four years, five to eight years, nine to 12 years and 13 to 16 years. The organisers have decided to reward the winners with national savings certificates by way of prizes. The first prize winner gets the Satish Chand memorial award of Rs 10,000 comprising NSCs worth Rs 5,000 and gift vouchers for the rest of the amount.

In each of the four categories, awards consisting of gift vouchers of Rs 3,000, Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000 will be given. The entries selected for the final exhibition will be given certificates of merit.

Faridabad, November 22
At least two bill duplicating machines, installed by the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) worth about Rs 5 lakh, have been rendered useless within one year of being made operational. The BSNL authorities are now thinking of shifting these machines elsewhere.

While one machine was installed at the BSNL's main office at Sector 16 here, the other machine was fitted at the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) at Nehru Ground here. But it is now learnt that as the offices of the BSNL have been made online, the work of getting duplicate bills is being done by the computers and the special machines installed for the purpose have been rendered useless for the past about a month.

It may be recalled that five offices of the BSNL here, including the offices at Sector 16, Sector 23, Sector 6 (Telephone Exchange), CTO, and DLF exchange, have been computerised and all services have been made available online. These centres have been renamed as `Customer Service Centres'. There are about 1.25 lakh BSNL subscribers here.

Cultural Show

The Faridabad-based Indu Creation and Film Society will organise a cultural event under the name of `Jalwa' at MCF auditorium here on November 24. Besides a Fashion Show, the organisers will also hold a dance competition and a comic play on the occasion, according to the director of the play, Dr Chander. He said that the Mayor, Mrs Anita Goswami, will inaugurate the show.

Soldier killed

Jhajjar: Mr Om Prakash, Sub-Inspector in the CRPF, sacrificed his life while fighting militants at Jivan Nagar in Bishenpur district of Manipur on Thursday.

The District Soldier Board sources said today that the body of the martyr will arrive tomorrow and would be consigned to flames in his native Lagarpur village in Bahadurgarh. According to information, he was recruited in the force in 1968. He is survived by his mother, wife and three sons. He was one of the seven jawans killed in an ambush by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

Two die in mishap

Two motorcycle-borne youths were killed when their vehicle rammed a tree along the roadside near Kamalgarh on the Bahadurgarh road on Thursday night. According to information, Jai Bhagawan, an employee in a veterinary hospital in Kablana, was going towards Bahadurgarh, while another employee was riding pillion on his mobike after visiting his friend in the town. Both of them died on the spot.

Power cut today

Noida: Noida is once again bearing long spells of power cuts, thanks to the ‘work in progress’ on 220 KV lines near Sahibabad. It is expected to be completed by November 23, say the UP Power Corporation Officials here. But till then, Noidaites are destined to live without power.

New Delhi, November 22
A 10-year-old unidentified boy was knocked down by a rashly driven Maruti car on Rajpath last evening. The vehicle hit the boy, who was taking a walk, from behind. He was taken to a nearby hospital but he succumbed to the injuries. A case of death due to rash and negligent driving has been registered, the police said.

Vehicle thieves nabbed

With the arrest of four suspects, the North-East district police today claimed to have worked out a number of vehicle theft cases. The suspects were identified as Naushad alias Akbar, Shamsuddin alias Shamsu, Sanjay Kumar and Khubi. One Maruti car, two scooters and two motorcycles were recovered from their possession. Three of the suspects who were going in a stolen Maruti car were arrested from Dwarka.

The car was stolen from Defence Colony. Their interrogation led to the arrest of other gang members, the police said.

Murder solved

The North-East district police also claimed to have worked out the blind murder of Bhupender Singh, a resident of Maujpur. The murder was committed last week. The suspect, Manoj, was arrested from his house in the same area.

During interrogation, he disclosed that they were friends. On the fateful day, they consumed alcohol and fought on a trivial matter. Manoj hit Bhupender repeatedly on the head with a brick killing him on the spot.

Three robbers held

The South district police today claimed to have arrested three persons who entered a house in Naraina Vihar in the garb of electricians and robbed Rs 2.5 lakh and jewellery worth Rs 10 lakh, two mobile phones and a Santro car.

The car was later found abandoned on Ring Road in Naraina. The suspects were identified as Nitin, Govind Mishra and Umender Singh.

The police said that Rs 1.5 lakh and some jewellery were recovered at their instance.

The remaining cash and jewellery were with their absconding associates identified as Balveer Chand Bakhshi and Anil Yadav, the police said.

Ghaziabad, November 22
The criminals, who had assaulted two policemen, Vijay Pal and Chander Pal in a police picket on November 11 in Lone area, had stayed in the house of a dreaded criminal. The house was just behind the Shahid Nagar police post in Sahibabad! This criminal was also involved in the attack on cops, the police said.

Other criminals involved in the assault are reportedly
members of a cricket club, Loni. They had attacked the two constables and looted their official rifles after inflicting serious injuries on them on November 11 night. IG Police P C Sabharwal and DIG Gurdarshan Singh had, after visiting the site, ordered the district police to arrest the culprits and recover the rifles from them.

During the investigation, the Delhi Police dogs indicated that the culprits had fled towards Nathora village. The police then tapped all phones of the area. On tapping phones, they found that one particular phone had been used to get calls from Shahid Nagar and Shalimar Garden area of Sahibabad.

The police learnt that all the culprits had taken refuge in the house of the dreaded criminal. The cops have not been able to lay their hand on the culprits so far.

Noida, November 22
Unable to reconcile to the death of his young son sometime ago, a man stabbed himself to death in Sector 3 last night.

Ram Shah Saxena, a resident of E-4 in Sector 3, had recently lost his son who was ailing for some time. Unable to overcome the loss of his son, Ram Shah also fell sick. He recovered in due course but slipped into deep depression.

Last night, when he was alone in his room, according to the police, he stabbed himself a number of times. A profusely bleeding Ram Shah was rushed to a private nursing home, where he succumbed to his injuries.

New Delhi, November 22
Delhi now has the coveted status of a city with a certified eco-friendly hotel with the launch of Uppal’s Orchid - a 5-star deluxe business hotel.

Certified by the international hospitality brand, Ecotel, the famous collection of environmentally sensitive hotels, inns and resorts that belong to Hospitality Valuation Services (HVS) International, Uppal’s Orchid is the second 5-star Ecotel hotel in India and the fourth in the world.

The hotel has been promoted and developed by the Delhi-based Uppal Group, which have entered into an agreement with Concept Hospitality Limited for the day-to-day management and operation of Uppal’s Orchid.

Located close to the international airport, the hotel spans an area of 10.5 acres of which only 10 per cent is built up while the rest is an appealing lush green expanse. Every part of the property, the design details and the day-to-day running of the hotel conform to the Ecotel concept.

Mr Mathur applauded Mr Virender Kumar of Kaithal district, a 17-year-old student, who has displayed a model of safe India Express Train with an electronic circuit avoiding accidents and collision. The Chief Secretary directed the officials accompanying him to invite railway officials to witness this model. He also showed interest in LPG gas geyser and low cost fans produced to combat the challenge of Chinese goods.

Mr Salins revealed that more than 5.86 lakh visitors have so far visited the Haryana Pavilion. Domestic enquiries numbering 27,247 involving an amount of Rs 53 lakh have been received in the pavilion. Export enquiries have been received from countries like Nepal, Dubai, Iraq, Bangladesh, the UK and Germany.

The Chief Secretary commented that the display is very good and encouraging. He expressed the hope that the pavilion will not only be the showcase of Haryana's growth and its potentials but will translate into better orders for participating units.

Sonepat November 22
The students of various colleges affiliated to the All India Democratic Students Organisation, took out a procession here on Thursday, to register their protest against the passing of Casino Bill by the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, privatisation of education.

They also protested against other anti-people and anti-farmer policies of the Indian National Lok Dal government, headed by Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala.

According to a report, carrying placards and raising anti-government slogans, they passed through the main bazaars of the city and reached the mini-secretariat where they held a demonstration in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office.

The leaders of the
organisation also sent a memorandum to the Governor of Haryana in the absence of the Deputy Commissioner, whose staff failed to receive it.
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